Chapter Summaries

Chiba and Nuolin refused to abandon their mission after the Magic Council captain turned them away, and they set up a hidden camp near the battlefield. An unseen attacker ambushed them, but Nuolin and Chiba struck back, wounding him before he escaped.

• Chiba and Nuolin left the Magic Council camp, and Tianna returned to speak with her captain while they continued the mission.
• Chiba used Wood Release to build a small house near the forest as the two prepared to camp and scout.
• A concealed attacker fired a needle at Chiba and Nuolin, but Nuolin deflected it with her blade.
• Nuolin detected the attacker’s position, and Chiba threw a Spiral Needle that exploded near him and wounded his back.
• The attacker vanished again despite Nuolin’s follow-up slash, and she told Chiba he had escaped.

Chiba and Nuolin left their exposed camp after a concealed dark guild wizard escaped, while Jikade explained to Tianna that Chiba’s reputation and presence on the front lines put him in danger. Chiba considered the growing conflict between Shadow Skull and Grimoire Heart and suspected the mission would be more complicated than the last.

• Chiba blasted the cabin apart after Nuolin called off the pursuit, and they headed deeper into the forest to find another place to camp.
• A soldier reported to Jikade that 'Shadow' Morton had been spotted in the northern forest, and Jikade suspected Chiba and Nuolin had wounded him.
• Jikade told Tianna that the Magic Council had suppressed Chiba’s fame to protect him from dark guilds, and warned that Grimoire Heart might attack Shadow Skull.
• Jikade ordered Tianna to watch over Chiba and Nuolin, even if protecting them required her to sacrifice herself, and she agreed.
• Chiba reviewed what he knew about the Sword of Slaughter and Shadow Skull’s worsening position, then sensed that the mission would be unusually complicated.

Chiba saw Tianna off and reflected on the escalating war, while at Fairy Tail, Hodrian revealed to Makarov that Chiba and Nuolin had vanished through a spatial distortion before appearing at the southern battlefield. The chapter left Makarov and Hodrian worried that Chiba and Nuolin were caught in the growing conflict between powerful dark guilds.

• Tianna promised to protect Chiba, and he told her to be careful before she left.
• Chiba discussed the escalating conflict involving Shadow Skull and Grimoire Heart with Nuolin and wondered whether he would meet someone from Grimoire Heart.
• Lisanna found Mira at the Fairy Tail tavern and teased her about neglecting her work since Chiba left.
• Hodrian visited Makarov and said the magical barrier over Magnolia had carried chakra linked to Chiba and the Land of Shinobi.
• Hodrian showed Makarov an image of Chiba and Nuolin disappearing through distorted space outside Magnolia before reaching their mission destination in southern Fiore.
• Hodrian warned Makarov that two members of the Balam Alliance might fight their final battle on the southern battlefield, putting Chiba and Nuolin in danger.

Makarov and Hodrian argued over the danger facing Hodrian’s apprentices, prompting Mira and Erza to rush toward the southern battlefield. Chiba joined Tianna on a mission to investigate the mysterious magic crystal deposit in Dragon Corpse Valley, where they found a lifeless landscape.

• Hodrian refused to abandon his apprentices and left after arguing with Makarov about going to help them.
• Mira and Erza learned that the apprentices were on the southern battlefield and hurried out, while Makarov kept what Hodrian had shown him secret.
• Tianna told Chiba and Nuolin that she had been ordered to investigate Dragon Corpse Valley and its unmined magic crystal ore deposit.
• Chiba used his Transformation Technique to prove he could disguise himself and persuaded Tianna to let him accompany her, while Nuolin stayed behind.
• Chiba and Tianna entered the snow-covered valley and found no people, plants, animals, or magical beasts; Tianna said the valley was barren all year.

Chiba and Tianna traveled deeper into Dragon Corpse Valley, where they talked about Fairy Tail and Tianna’s belief in justice. Tianna shared how a Magic Council unit led by her adoptive brother rescued her village, while Chiba left her question about why he had joined a guild unanswered as they continued scouting.

• Tianna broke the tense silence in Dragon Corpse Valley, and Chiba scolded her for treating their dangerous scouting mission casually.
• Tianna asked Chiba about wizard guilds, and he described Fairy Tail as a noisy family watched over by its fatherly master.
• Tianna said she hoped to join a guild someday but felt bound to the Magic Council by her brother and her commitment to justice.
• Tianna recounted how a dark guild killed the adults in her village and abducted the children before a Magic Council unit led by her adoptive brother rescued them.
• Chiba teased Tianna about her brother, then avoided answering why he had joined Fairy Tail and urged her to focus on scouting.

Hodrian refused Haiweier’s request to help her sister, urging her to trust her and Fairy Tail. In Dragon Corpse Valley, Chiba and Tianna discovered a hidden threat beneath the ground and were trapped by Kruse Andode, one of Shadow Skull’s Four Thrones.

• Hodrian recalled leaving the Duchy of Yalan after its general ignored his warning and nearly lost the royal capital.
• Hodrian told Haiweier that her sister would not allow them to break the rules and urged her to trust Fairy Tail.
• Chiba detected death energy rising from underground in Dragon Corpse Valley, and an abyss opened beneath the group.
• A platform rose from the abyss with hundreds of black-robed figures bearing the Sword of Slaughter emblem and a spear-wielding leader.
• The leader ordered his followers to attack, forcing Chiba and Tianna to flee, but he raised a water barrier that blocked their escape.
• The young man identified himself as Kruse Andode, one of Shadow Skull’s Four Thrones.

Chiba and Tianna fought their way through the black-robed figures, then tried to escape the barrier with help from Chiba’s summoned python. After the python accidentally sent Chiba flying into Tianna, they crashed together and kissed, leaving Tianna accusing him of being a pervert.

• Chiba and Tianna attacked the black-robed figures, but their coordinated magic and sword strikes blocked the assault.
• Kruse ambushed Chiba and offered to trade Tianna for prettier women, but Chiba refused and carried Tianna away using Shadow Form.
• Tianna teased Chiba as he fled, while Kruse stayed behind to maintain the barrier and the black-robed figures pursued them.
• Near the barrier’s edge, Chiba threw Tianna into the air and summoned the Water King, whose tail accidentally sent Chiba flying after her.
• Chiba and Tianna collided and landed in an embrace, accidentally kissing before Tianna called him a pervert.

Chiba and Tianna fled Kruse’s black-robed pursuers until Laxus arrived and confronted Kruse. As the two powerful mages fought, the rest of the attackers rushed in, and the Thunder God Tribe began defending against them.

• After Chiba and Tianna’s accidental first kiss, Chiba ordered the Water King and his Shadow Clones to hold off the black-robed men while he broke Kruse’s barrier with a barrage of Ninjutsu.
• Chiba and Tianna escaped as Kruse pursued them, while Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe entered Dragon Corpse Valley after sensing strong magic power.
• When swordsmen attacked the fleeing pair, Laxus descended in a bolt of golden lightning and struck down more than twenty pursuers.
• Laxus fought Kruse, who attacked with a water-wreathed spear, while hundreds of black-robed men surged toward them.
• Freed used Dark Ecriture, rejection, to stop a black-robed attacker whose fist was wrapped in flames and send him flying.

The Thunder God Tribe joined Chiba and Tianna against the black-robed mages, while Chiba used Wood Release clones to turn the battle around. Chiba and Laxus teamed up against Kruse, and Chiba seized an opening after their attacks collided with Kruse’s water dragon.

• Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen arrived and attacked the black-robed mages, but the Thunder God Tribe was soon surrounded by the larger force.
• Chiba activated the Seven Star Seal and created more than twenty Wood Release clones, shifting the battle in their favor.
• Chiba joined Laxus in attacking Kruse, with Laxus leading the assault and Chiba supporting him.
• Kruse unleashed Water Dragon's Heavenly Wrath, and Laxus and Chiba countered with Raging Bolt and a spinning chakra attack.
• The three attacks caused a violent explosion, and Chiba prepared to exploit the opening to strike Kruse.

Chiba defeated Kruse with a Lava Release Big Ball Rasengan and tried to make the enemy forces surrender, but they kept fighting as Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe retreated. Chiba and Tianna discovered the remaining black-clad fighters had stopped moving and suspected they were puppets, then teased each other about their kiss and Chiba’s love life.

• Chiba struck Kruse with a Lava Release Big Ball Rasengan, leaving him bloodied and motionless, then announced that the Throne of Water had fallen.
• The black-robed figures charged Chiba instead of surrendering, while Laxus ordered the Thunder God Tribe to retreat and Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen cleared a path.
• Chiba hurried to Tianna, but the remaining black-clad figures suddenly stopped moving and gathered into a formation.
• Chiba and Tianna examined the motionless figures and suspected they were puppets.
• Tianna teased Chiba about their kiss and suggested becoming his concubine, then asked whether he was still a virgin after hearing rumors about Erza and Mirajane.

Chiba realized the magic-crystal lead had been a trap, but Alili appeared and overwhelmed him and Tianna before taking control of the puppets. At Shadow Skull’s underground base, Alili confronted a seductive woman whose words had helped set the deadly events in motion.

• Chiba warned Tianna that Kruse had lured her into a trap, and she said her brother would abandon her if duty required it.
• Alili emerged from the snow and warned Tianna away from the puppets.
• Alili moved too quickly for Chiba to stop him and held his sword at Tianna’s throat, declaring the gap between them.
• Alili retrieved something from Kruse’s corpse and led the puppets away, warning Chiba that he was still an ant before a real war.
• At Shadow Skull’s base in Dragon Corpse Valley, Alili met a woman who teased him about letting Chiba go and denied ordering Kruse and Rina to capture him.

Chiba and Tianna returned after their encounter with Alili, and Tianna broke down over feeling too weak to protect him. At the encampment, the soldiers faced the possibility of an imminent all-out war, while Chiba returned to find Nuolin waiting in her room.

• Alili discussed the coming awakening and a plan with a woman, warning her to be careful of a powerful figure in the northern nations.
• Tianna asked Chiba whether Alili had spared them because of him, then cried over her inability to protect him and her resentment of others’ charity.
• Chiba quietly stayed beside Tianna until she calmed down, and she returned to the encampment to report the Throne of Water’s death.
• Chiba watched the soldiers share a brief night of celebration and grief before returning to Nuolin.
• Nuolin challenged the intruder when Chiba opened the dark room door, then recognized him as he lit the room with lava magic.

Chiba learned from Nuolin that the Magic Council’s force had no reinforcements and was unlikely to win, then Jikade sent them to persuade Wodi to bring another force to the front. Chiba and Nuolin rode west to find him.

• Chiba told Nuolin that he and Laxus had killed the Throne of Water, and she warned him that the Magic Council had no reinforcements.
• Nuolin said she and Chiba would work together to kill the Sword of Slaughter’s master.
• The Magic Council’s expeditionary force advanced through the snow toward the enemy camp, which showed no sign of movement.
• Jikade told Chiba that Tianna was protecting a nearby town and asked him to persuade Wodi to bring his delayed troops as reinforcements, or kill him if he refused.
• Chiba and Nuolin rode west toward Wodi’s position.

Wodi withheld support from Jikade’s attack because Bolunte wanted to pressure Jikade into accepting a marriage between Tianna and Bolunte. When Chiba and Nuolin arrived to request aid, Wodi hinted that Jikade had to make a choice, and Chiba declared he was willing to give up everything for justice.

• Wodi learned that Jikade had launched a full-scale attack and ordered his troops to hold their position rather than help.
• Wodi thought about Bolunte’s plan to deny Jikade support until he agreed to Bolunte’s marriage proposal for Tianna.
• Wodi agreed to meet Chiba and Nuolin after hearing they would force their way in if he refused.
• Chiba told Wodi that Jikade’s forces could barely hold out and asked him for aid.
• Wodi suggested that Jikade had to make a choice before he could send help on Bolunte’s behalf.
• Chiba solemnly said he could give up everything he held dear for justice.

Chiba killed Wodi and framed the Throne of Fire, turning the Magic Council soldiers against her and rallying them to support Jikade on the eastern battlefield. After leaving Jikade’s tent, Chiba congratulated himself on how convincingly he had carried out the scheme.

• Wodi tried to persuade Chiba to leave Nuolin with him for magical guidance, but Chiba questioned him about justice and killed him with Heaven's Blazing Sun.
• Chiba transformed into the Throne of Fire, then used a Shadow Clone to impersonate her and burn the military camp while insulting the Magic Council.
• Chiba pretended to be a frightened witness and convinced the vice captain that the Throne of Fire had assassinated Wodi and attacked the camp.
• The vice captain ordered soldiers to hunt the Throne of Fire, declared war on the darkness, and led the unit toward the eastern battlefield to support Jikade.
• After leaving Jikade’s tent, Chiba reflected that framing the Throne of Fire had worked because her reputation made the story believable.

Tianna withdrew her troops from the town after its residents protested their presence, though she suspected Bolunte had manipulated events to keep them from evacuating. Just as she believed the war was nearly over, monsters appeared south of town and gathered to attack.

• Jikade held back his forces because the fighting was going too smoothly and neither Shadow Skull nor Grimoire Heart had appeared.
• Tianna learned that the townspeople refused to evacuate, and she encouraged her soldiers to see their trust in them as a reason to hold the town.
• Townspeople protested the Magic Council’s presence and accused its soldiers of avoiding the front lines.
• Tianna ordered her troops to withdraw and set up camp five hundred meters outside town.
• Tianna recalled Bolunte and suspected he had arranged the unrest and prevented the evacuation.
• The ground shook, and a magic soldier reported that monsters had appeared south of town and were gathering to attack.

Chiba and Nuolin joined the Magic Council’s battle against the dark guilds, but a bone dragon emerged and devastated both sides. As the dragon prepared another attack, Laxus struck it with lightning and called for two figures to attack.

• Chiba and Nuolin leaped into the battlefield and began cutting down dark guild members.
• A scar-faced man of the Sword of Slaughter recognized the pair from Morton’s account and withdrew from the battle.
• A bone dragon erupted from underground and unleashed a magical blast that annihilated countless fighters on both sides.
• Chiba, Nuolin, and the Magic Council soldiers attacked the dragon, but it emerged completely unharmed and filled the survivors with despair.
• Laxus descended in a bolt of golden lightning, interrupted the dragon’s next attack, and shouted for two figures to strike.

Chiba and his allies helped bring down the bone dragon, and Mira reunited him with Erza, Laxus, and Mystogan. As Chiba reflected on Fairy Tail’s powerful lineup, the dragon rose again and turned its attention toward them.

• Erza and Mira attacked the bone dragon, but their spells barely harmed it.
• Chiba reflected the dragon’s roar with Triple Magic Circle: Mirror Water, knocking it to the ground as the fighters charged it.
• Mira reunited with Chiba and explained that she and Erza had come because they feared he was in danger.
• Erza introduced Mystogan to Chiba, and the two concealed that they had already met.
• Mira called the group Fairy Tail’s strongest lineup, and Chiba agreed as the bone dragon rose and faced them.

Chiba, Laxus, Mira, Erza, and Mystogan struggled against the bone dragon, whose resistance rendered their magic ineffective. Chiba’s Chakra and Laxus’s revealed Dragon Slayer Magic wounded it, but as the bone dragon prepared to destroy them, a snow-white dragon appeared and knocked it aside.

• Chiba opened the first seal and attacked the bone dragon with Lava Release: Big Ball Rasengan and Demon Flash, breaking its bones because Chakra could harm dragons.
• Mira and Erza’s attacks failed to injure the bone dragon, while Erza’s Adamantine Armor barely withstood its roar.
• The bone dragon struck Chiba with its claw, and Laxus revealed his Dragon Slayer Magic by firing Lightning Dragon’s Roar at it.
• A huge snow-white dragon appeared beneath the bone dragon, struck it aside, and soared into the air.

Chiba used Complete Tailed Beast Transformation to defeat the bone dragon, but the power left him badly injured. As Mira carried him away, a fading white dragon recognized Feiyin as the queen of the Moonlight Dragon Clan, though she did not recognize it.

• Chiba released Complete Tailed Beast Transformation and attacked the bone dragon with a giant Rasengan and a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Mira found Chiba's crater empty and feared he was dead, but he reappeared and reassured her.
• Chiba's transformation faded, leaving him severely injured, and Mira carried him on her back toward the guild.
• A fading white dragon appeared and asked why Chiba possessed its king's power.
• Chiba brought Feiyin out, and the dragon identified her as the queen of the Moonlight Dragon Clan, while Feiyin said she did not know it.